A special court in Beed district, Maharashtra, on Wednesday remanded Walmik Karad, an accused in an extortion case related to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, to 14 days of judicial custody.
Karad, who had previously been in CID custody, appeared before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court via video link.
The court, after hearing the case, ordered Karad, who is reportedly an associate of Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde, to remain in judicial custody. Karad had been charged under the MCOCA on January 14. Following his booking, the police had sought his further custody from the special MCOCA court.
Earlier, on January 15, Karad was remanded to the custody of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the CID to investigate the case, with his custody initially set to last until January 22.
The case revolves around the tragic abduction, torture, and murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, on December 9. Investigations revealed that Deshmukh had resisted an extortion attempt targeting an energy company running a windmill project in the region.
Karad was arrested in connection with the extortion case after surrendering to police in Pune on December 31.
